The Road to Wellville by T.C. Boyle Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Road to Wellville
Book Review: Hated the movie? The book more than makes up for it!!
Summary: 4 Stars
I first picked up this book because I was living in Santa Barbara and Boyle was featured in one of the local newspapers as a local artist. I wasn't sure what to expect since I never heard of him before but did know the movie that was based on this book was supposed to horrible. But I read it anyway and was very glad I did..The story about a fanatical health/cereal magnate and his crackpot followers was great. The characters were built up perfectly and the descriptions of the settings were vivid enough to make you imagine you were a witness to all the doings of Kellogg and the Lightbodys. It's rare that I read a book and wonder about what happens to the characters after the book ends but I did here. I then made the mistake of watching the movie. It was interesting to see the book come to life but that's as far as the entertainment went. Like most really good books, this one has too many subtleties of plot and humor to easily be translated into a movie. So, if you have a few days to spare, do yourself a favor and pick up The Road to Wellville. It'll pick up your spirits even better than a yogurt enema could ever hope to...Book Review: Highly Entertaining -- never a dull moment!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm so glad I finally read T.C. Boyle's "The Road to Wellville." From the moment you begin reading, you will be (or, should be) sucked into the story. I've been waiting for a novel to come along and do this to me but also have some sort of substance to it. Every character was unique in his/her own way, and since this novel is based somewhat on history, you also get to learn a bit about Mr. Kellogg (of "san" and cereal fame) and others. I really like how Boyle took one tiny piece of our US history and just blew it up -- adding fiction to the history -- so that I've learned a bit more about something I wouldn't normally learn about. Who knew that the cereal business was so competitive let alone ruthless? Who knew that people flocked to the "san" for treatments we wouldn't necessarily put up with now? Who knew that specialized diets existed then as they do now -- and interestingly enough, they're fairly similar?
Boyles can do what others have a hard time doing -- he can create a great story based on history and never make it dull. He never lapses into long, drawn-out explanations of things. He just gives you enough so that you get it and then he moves on. You can always research on your own! And, he really knows how to create multi-faceted characters. You can feel their happiness, their excitement, their shame, their sadness.
I would recommend this to anyone who's looking for a great read. Don't let the length fool you -- it's a really quick read giving the circumstances. Go to it!
Book Review: Hilarious satire with a timely message
Summary: 5 Stars
The Road to Wellville is going on my list of absolute favourite books. This is one of the funniest novels I have ever read, and also one of the most educational. T. Coraghessan Boyle has perfected the art of understatement. One of my favourite parts is when Eleanor Lightbody is receiving her German therapeutic massage: "She sank beneath it, dreaming of those sylvan glades, of men and women alike gamboling through Bavarian meadows, as naked as God made them, and she felt herself moving, too, the gentlest friction of her hips against the leather padding, moving forward and downwards and ever so therapeutically into that firm sure touch." Trust me, when you get to that part of the book, all will make sense in a most delightful way!This is a chronicle of the scatological misadventures of the spa/health set of the 1890s/1900s. Why do I say scatological? Well, John Kellogg (inventor of corn flakes and peanut butter) was obsessed with the alimentary canal. He believed a strict regimen of no fewer than five enemas per day was necessary for good health. His obsession with defecatory health permeates the novel and gives it its own unique...er...flavour.
But the novel is not a coprocentric treatise. It is a hilarious, rollicking journey through the life of a quack who didn't know he was a quack, and through the lives of those he effected.
I was first introduced to this tale through the critically-panned film version (which I personally enjoyed very much!). The book shares many common plot elements with the story, but, as is the usual case, is far superior to its film adaptation. It is also a very quick and easy read.
It's easy to disassociate myself from the ridiculous treatments included in this book (breathing in radium as a means of treating jaundice is a perfect example), but, I can't help but think T. Coraghessan Boyle may have meant this book to serve also as a cautionary tale. Sure, it's fun to laugh at those silly people of a hundred years ago, but similarly ridiculous and life-threatening "treatments" are being given out now under the guise of holistic healing.
Book Review: Historically Incorrect
Summary: 3 Stars
First off, the author as well as other reviewer mention that Kellogg is the inventor of peanut butter. This is incorrect. Its actually George Washington Carver that invented peanut butter as well as over 200 uses for the peanut. Kellogg did not invent peanut butter, but may have advocated its use as a protien substitute instead of eating meat or any type of animal flesh.As for my review. I found Boyle's take on the post-victorian era health fad to be entertaining. I was facinated by the ignorance of health issues back in 1907 as well as the plethora of "snake oil" salesmen, Kellogg included, who tried to petal some of the most ridiculous cures for the most common malaise. All symptoms of aches and pains were diagnosed by Kellogg as "autointoxication of this" or "autointoxication of that" This and that being eating of meat or drinking of alcohol. Its a marvel that so many people were eager to put their lives in the hands of people who were in no way, shape, or form trained in the medical profession. A scary journey into the birth of the health and nutrition era.
Book Review: If Dickens Were a Smartass
Summary: 5 Stars
The jovial tone of this dark and wicked novel is winning. This is a wonderful read and very very funny. The comic style and the high jinks are tempered by the dark and ernst illumination of our contemporary non-smoking non-fat health craze, but my god, who knew it'd be so facinating and weird and true? If you liked the movie, this is ten times better. If you didn't, it's a hundred times better. Bizarre and always entertaing, Boyle is one of our greatest living authors.